[~Ami~]

Has anyone gotten or heard of anyone getting a net worth waiver for a special needs child? I'm single and don't have 100,000 in net worth. I think I did it right because we don't count our income, correct? Maybe I just need to sit back and wait for Vietnam to eventually open again...

Thanks for any help (and feel free to pm me)!

[sak9645]

Net worth has nothing to do with income. It's "what you own, minus what you owe."

As an example, suppose that you bought a house for $100,000 15 years ago, and the exact same model, down the block, just sold for $110,000. Instantly, you have added $10,000 to your net worth, because your house has appreciated in value.

Now, you still can't put the whole $110,000 towards your net worth, if you have a mortgage. But if you made a down payment of $20,000 when you bought the house and have since paid down principal on your house of $25,000, you can say that the $45,000 plus the appreciation of $10,000 gives you $55,000 towards your net worth. If you have a beach house or vacation home, do the same calculations for it.

You probably have homeowners' insurance. Look at your policy, and see what it would pay for replacement of all of your furniture and clothes and such, which are in the house, if your house burned down. That's a good number to use for the value of all your belongings (except your car) that are in the house or garage. Maybe you'll pick up another $20,000 there.

When you bought your homeowners' policy, you may have added some "scheduled items" to it, for things that needed special appraisals or valuation -- your late grandmother's diamond bracelet, a fancy home theater system, a collection of antique teapots. Don't forget to add the appraised values of these items to your net worth.

Now, how much money do you have in savings, bank CDs, your IRA, your 401(k), stocks and bonds, and other investments? The entire amount can go towards your net worth, unless you have done something like borrowing against your 401(k), in which case, the amount you borrowed must be subtracted from the total amount of savings and investments.

Now consider your car(s). If they are fully paid off, use the Kelley Blue Book to see what they would be worth if you tried to sell them, and that amount would be their contribution to net worth. If they are not fully paid off, subtract from the Kelley Blue Book value the remaining amount you owe on them, and the remainder would be the contribution to net worth.

If you have term life insurance, it does not contribute to net worth. However, if you have a "whole life" plan, which has a savings component, the savings component contributes towards your net worth.

Now, think about your debts, other than your mortgage and car loans, which we have already mentioned. Do you still have any student loans? How much credit card debt do you have? Are you paying off a tax bill? Subtract these things from the numbers you have so far.

Again, add up the assets, and subtract the liabilities.

Overall, while it isn't terribly hard to come up with a net worth of $100,000, some people will have difficulty. Those are usually people who if rent a home instead of owning one (even with a mortgage), since renting does not give them any equity in a property. And they are usually people with a lot of credit card debt. Probably the best way for you to build net worth is to decrease consumer debt and to increase savings. Getting a better job won't, by itself, help you, unless you use the extra money to pay off loans and consumer debt, or to buy a home.

You probably won't be considered for a waiver if you are trying to adopt a child with very mild special needs. But, then again, as a single woman, you probably won't be able to adopt a child who is healthy or who has very minor special needs anyway, since China is closed to most singles. So forget about getting a waiver for the cute little boy with seven toes on one of his feet, or the pretty crosseyed girl.

Remember that, to be considered for a waiver, you'd still have to show that you could afford the costs of managing the medical issues of a child with at least moderate special needs. And those needs can be substantial.

You may need to make modifications to your home to accommodate a wheelchair. You may need to take a lower paying, less intense job that gives you more time to spend with your child who will need several surgical procedures and is likely to spend a fair amount of time in the hospital. You may need to use a private school that is better equipped to deal with your daughter's learning disabilities or your son's ADHD, possibly associated with her birthmother's substance abuse. You may discover that your child was severely traumatized by his previous hospital stays in China and will need therapy to overcome the oppositional/defiant behavior that he uses to hide the fact that he's really a scared, depressed kid.

Unless you can prove that there's something going on in your life that makes net worth less reliable an indicator of your financial ability to meet the needs of a child with significant special needs, you probably won't get a waiver. As an example, suppose you are provided with free housing, because you are an Episcopal priest and that is what your church offers its senior member of the clergy. You can't count it as an asset, because you don't own it, but having that housing probably saves you a bundle over the course of a year, and could let you pay for treating your child's problem more easily.

I hope that you find a way to adopt. I'm a single (long divorced), old Mom, who is absolutely thrilled to have been given the opportunity to parent.

Sharon

[~Ami~]

Thanks for the information. I don't have credit cards or credit card debt and have very little debt outside of my car loan. I don't own my home which probably makes it harder for me to reach the 100,000. I will look at other countries or just wait and save for Vietnam to reopen. Thanks again.

[karla-k]

even though you don't own a house, you do own other stuff. the contents of your home count, your retirement accounts, any savings account, jewelry, antiques, savings bonds, etc.